Bowling Green and Warren County, as most are aware, continues to grow. Part of what comes with that is an increased need for public transportation.

The Bowling Green & Warren County Metropolitan Planning Organization is looking for proposals for a firm to do a merger study of GoBG Transit and Western Kentucky University Topper Transit.

GoBG has been providing transit services in the city for decades, but the service has had challenges and is limited in scope. 

Topper Transit of course provides transportation for WKU students.

The two services, according to Brent Childers, have been aligning during the past few years under new management. Childers is director of Neighborhood and Community Services for the City of Bowling Green.

Previous studies have concluded that a merger of the services would produce many efficiencies and thus should be pursued.

Childers says there’s no current plan to more formally merge the two transits, but “it’s just looking at … what is the best way to deliver transit services for the students and the citizens of Bowling Green.”

A merger, according to Jennifer Tougas, assistant vice president for Business Services at WKU, would cut down on costs for Topper Transit.

It’s clear public transportation is becoming more important as Bowling Green’s population continues its upward trend. There are more and more people without transportation who need to get to work. Companies and businesses, subsequently, also benefit from having the transportation in place, efficient and plentiful.

A merged, more efficient and expanded  transportation service would certainly be a boon for our growing region and would likely draw more users and more federal funding. 

Plus, anything that reduces traffic in our fair city certainly deserves a look.